Lebanon staff present $88.24 million proposed FY2026 budget; committee elects chair, sets meeting schedule

City staff presented the proposed fiscal year 2026 city budget — $88,240,933 in total appropriations — to the Lebanon Budget Committee, and the committee elected Councilor Dave Workman as chair and named Councilor Carl Mann secretary. Staff also delivered the Lebanon Urban Renewal Agency budget message covering five renewal districts and urged the committee to review bond and project plans tied to North Gateway and the Northwest districts.

The budget message, read into the record by city staff, said the proposal "is a comprehensive financial plan that aligns with the city council's goals while ensuring the needs of our residents and visitors are met," and noted the plan maintains current service levels without planned personnel reductions. The presentation said the city implemented a city services fee on 01/01/2025 to address a structural general-fund shortfall and that the fee has helped stabilize finances but may require adjustments in future years. (Staff member, budget presenter)

Why it matters: the budget covers core services and capital projects including a wastewater treatment plant upgrade, waterline replacements and parks planning; it also affects tax distributions tied to urban renewal districts and could temporarily reduce general-fund property tax receipts while the Northwest Urban Renewal District accelerates debt payments.

Key details from the city budget presentation

- Total proposed appropriations: $88,240,933. (Staff member, budget presenter) - The budget includes a contingency line of roughly $600,000 for unforeseen events and a policy reserve requirement of 17% of expenditures (approximately $1.7 million per year). - The proposal does not include planned personnel reductions; staff described retaining adequate staffing as a priority for core service delivery. - Major capital priorities noted in the message include an upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant (identified as essential for regulatory compliance and long-term reliability) and waterline replacements; staff said utility funds and five-year utility projections support continued investment in infrastructure. (Staff member, budget presenter) - City service fee: staff confirmed the city began assessing a city services fee on 01/01/2025 and said the fee was implemented to address structural funding shortfalls for services such as public safety, parks, library services, municipal court and community planning. (Staff member, budget presenter) - Unfunded or partially funded priorities cited included jail operations (estimated operational start-up costs between $750,000 and $1,000,000), additional park staffing as the city adds trails and parks, and increasing costs tied to reduced gas tax revenue for street maintenance. (Staff member, budget presenter)

Urban Renewal Agency message

Ron, representing the Urban Renewal Agency, presented the agency's fiscal year 2026 proposed budget and described five districts: Northwest, North Gateway, Millrace, Downtown and Cheetah Lake. He said each district is accounted for in a separate fund and that overall the agency's funds are balanced.

Ron said the Northwest Urban Renewal District will increase levy draws in the coming fiscal year to accelerate payments on outstanding debt, with the goal of closing the district and returning tax revenues to taxing entities sooner than the current schedule. Staff estimated that closing the Northwest district will require temporarily redirecting tax receipts and will cause an annual reduction in general-fund property tax revenue of approximately $270,000 over the next three years. (Ron)

For the North Gateway district, Ron said planning is advancing for a street reconstruction project on Fifth Street (north of Tangent Street, from Tangent to Mary Street). Planning activities already completed include a topographic survey, a traffic-signal warrant analysis and preliminary roadway/utility layouts. Ron said the agency intends to proceed with a bond sale (anticipated to start in spring 2025) to fund the project, with construction expected in 2026. He also reported Millrace remains under its economic development agreement and the private developer is coordinating with ODOT to connect the site to the highway. (Ron)

Budget training and committee scheduling

Finance staff (Brandon) led a budget-training segment walking committee members through the online and printed budget documents, explaining how the state requires budgets to be presented by fund and by organizational unit. Brandon described interactive features of the online book, how to read budget-to-actual graphs, and how to locate beginning balances, contingency lines and five-year forecasts for the general and utility funds. Brandon also reiterated the state notice requirements for meetings and the timeline for council adoption, noting the council typically adopts the budget at its second Wednesday meeting in June and that committee work needs to be completed in time to meet notice deadlines.

Committee actions and logistics

- The committee elected Councilor Dave Workman chair by motion and voice vote; the motion was seconded and the chair appointment was approved. (Motion text: "I nominate Councilor Dave Workman for committee chair. Second.") - The committee appointed Councilor Carl Mann as secretary after a nomination and voice vote. (Motion text: "I nominate Councilor Carl Mann to be secretary.") - The committee set a follow-up budget committee meeting for May 6 at noon (two-hour block) to begin departmental reviews; staff will provide public notice in accordance with state law.

Other issues raised during the meeting

- Staff noted Green Peter Reservoir drawdowns could require increased maintenance and potential upgrades at the city's water treatment plant due to lower raw-water levels. - Broadband/franchise fees: Brandon explained federal limits restrict the city's ability to impose a franchise fee on internet service providers. The city has increased boring/permitting fees to recover some costs; staff said the city has expended significant staff time on permitting and inspections for a regional broadband provider (Ziply) and characterized that cumulative staff time cost in the current year as "probably somewhere around $7,080,000," a figure presented as an estimate by staff and not broken down in the meeting. (Brandon)

What happens next

Staff said corrected minutes will be provided at the next meeting, department directors will appear at future committee meetings to review department budgets and answer questions, and staff will continue preparing materials so the committee can complete its review in time for council notice and a June adoption schedule. The committee adjourned at 12:41 p.m.

Quotes used in this story are taken verbatim from the meeting transcript and are attributed to the speakers who appeared in the record.